Wednesday 30 July 2014

Toybox REVIEW: Figma Levi

Figma Levi from Attack on Titan

The Attack on Titan hype train is still very much rolling, but in terms of merchandise it seems Max Factory's Figma line is rounding things off for the time being. Well, as far as mass release figures go anyway. We've already seen Mikasa and Eren in the main line, Armin's popped up as a Wonderfest Exclusive (and should now be on his way to those who bought him from the GSC store) so now its time for the OTHER super popular character to make his debut. And that of course is none of than Levi. And Levi's popularity shouldn't be underestimated, because before he was even released he had a second version of his Figma announced - a cleaning version which was released as an exclusive at last weekend's summer Wonderfest.

Purple flavour

Boot to the face (part 1)Now that is a spine of disapproval

Utterly destroying my previous prediction of a green colourscheme, Levi comes packaged in a box that uses a deep royal purple as its main colour. Now I'm not saying that it doesn't look great, but I still feel green would have suited both the character and the show far better. Not that it really matters, because it isn't like he's going to spend long in the box anyway. Layout is pretty much as standard - nice big window at the front to see the box, large spine images and a selection of GSC's official images on the back. Guest starring Figma Eren getting a boot to the face.

Expressive face

Killing titans, dressing fancySadly no levis for Levi

If you haven't previously experienced Max Factory's superb sculpting on these Figmas then you'll be pleased to know that Levi is no exception, once again proving how far the company has come over the years and how light years ahead the Attack on Titan figures are in comparison to some of their other more recent releases. The body sculpt is largely similar to the previous male figures from the series, but features alternate shirt detailing and a removable cravat in addition to the different head. Although an issue on all four figures, the fact the arms can't fall parallel to the torso thanks to the soft plastic jacket stuck out a bit more here for some reason. But other than that there's nothing here to be faulted - the sculpt is sharp, the paint job crisp and the articulation near flawless.

And those ball-jointed hands. I'll never get over how fantastic they are and I REALLY hope this is standard for all future Figma releases.

Still disapproving

Kicking some assSpider-Levi

Levi's accessory count is almost identical to the previous three Attack on Titan Figma, however he does come with a little pair of extra surprises for the more keen-eyed collector. The repeated accessories include three swappable faces (which in true Levi fashion are two unimpressed faces and a rage face), ten alternate hands (complete with handy dandy plastic tree to keep them all in one place), a pair of 3D Gear plug-in blades and a soft plastic billowing Survey Corps poncho, which can be fitted over the figure by first removing the head and positioning it down over the shoulders. The added bonus is an extra pair of hands (which annoying can't fit on the hand tree with the others as it only has eight slots) so that Levi can hold the blades in his signature way - backward with his ring and little fingers on the trigger rather than his index and middle fingers. It isn't much in the way of variation, but it's something.

Levi go crazy face

When this happens, its hit the fanSlash slash slash

Then of course there's the 3D Gear, which takes up most of Levi's accessory count as well as overall space in the box. As with the other three Titan releases, this beautifully small-scaled piece plugs accurately onto the figure in a number of places to keep it secure, while the jutting wires can be attached to the separate swords to complete the look. Rounding the package off is a selection of gas cloud effect parts (a large one for the back that attaches to the included Figma stand, and two smaller ones for each side of the grappling hook launchers) and alternate grappling hook parts (rigid plastic ones for display and actual string ones for play/clever posing). This is where Levi's rage face REALLY comes into display, as he looks great in a "slashing through Titans like no one's business" pose. It's just a shame that we don't have any suitable sword slash or blood splatter effect parts to go with it.

The gang's all here

Boot to the face (part 2)Stand to attention

When it comes to rating Levi I'm going to have to reiterate what I said when I got my hands on Armin. The Attack on Titan Figma are absolutely fantastic, but there just isn't enough here to keep me as entertained every time. My thought process has gone "MIKASA! YEAH SHE'S AWESOME!" to "WOO! EREN'S HERE TOO!" to "Armin you're awesome but I wish you weren't an exclusive" to finally "Oh yay, Levi." And that's no reflection on Levi's quality, its just other than a different headsculpt and some body sculpt changes I've bought the same figure four times. Excluding the extra pair of hands, it's literally just the character that's different. Accessories certainly aren't the be-all, end-all of lines such as Figma and Figuarts, but when other figures promise so much its sad to see these guys couldn't have just a tiny bit of variation - even if it was simply different effect parts.

So to summarize in a ramble-free manner - Levi is a fantastic figure, but as the fourth Attack on Titan figure completists will have likely had quite a bit of the excitement already drained from them. If this is your first or you've only bought one before though, you're still in for a hell of a treat. Either way these Figmas have been among the best Max Factory have ever produced and I hope more roll around to coincide with season two of the anime - but preferably with some more exciting accessories this time around.

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